What a Moment
by Emily31594
Summary: Three scenes from Blaine's pov in "Original Songs" that work together. Ch. 2/3: Somewhere Only We Know
1. Chapter 1: Original Song

_So I wrote this because I love these scenes, and I love this episode. When I watched the 'Blackbird' scene for the first time, I got pretty far without thinking it would be any sort of pivotal plot point. Then the camera started to spend an inordinately long time on Blaine's face, and he had this look like he had finally realized something and was happy about it. My initial reaction was 'Apparently that's happening in this episode. Oh, Glee, and its random, transparent plot devices (aka Pavarotti). A dead bird? Really?'. But then I listened, really listened, to the lyrics of 'Blackbird', and realized that maybe the thoughts running through Blaine's head in this scene could be more complex and nuanced than I had originally thought. (I had the same reaction to thinking about the lyrics of 'Misery', which really match Kurt's attitude towards Blaine from the last few episodes perfectly.) Anyway, enjoy._

Blaine is in the middle of what now seems like an incredibly pointless (and most of them are) argument with the Warblers when Kurt enters the commons with an expression of deep sorrow, and dressed to match. Blaine freezes to stare at his friend in concern, his brow furrowing. "Kurt what's wrong?"

"It's Pavarotti," Kurt explains, his voice breaking on a few syllables as it always does when he's upset. "Pavarotti's dead. I suspect a stroke."

Blaine stares at his friend in shock, concerned by the amount of pain this has caused him. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry," he comforts. _It must remind him of his mom_, Blaine muses. He feels a jab at the amount of pain someone so compassionate and sensitive has been forced to suffer.

"I know it's really stupid to be upset about a bird, but he…he inspired me with his optimism and his love of song. He was my friend," Kurt admits with a shrug.

Blaine is still shocked. "Now I know today we need to practice doo-woping behind Blaine while he sings every solo in the medley of Pink songs." Kurt delivers this line directly to Blaine, but Blaine reacts with only a moderately regretful half-smile, because he honestly can't find it in himself to feel frustration at Kurt right now. "But…I'd like to sing a song for Pavarotti today." Kurt's voice cracks again, and he hands a prepared cassette tape to another Warbler without comment.

Blaine sits down, worry for his friend still playing on his face. He wonders, idly, why Kurt is using a tape. Blaine listens as the mellow intro begins, though he does not look back up at Kurt for a few seconds. At first all he notes is the tone, the ambiance of the thing. He stares at nothing.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night;_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly._

_All your life,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise._

Blaine falls into harmony with his friends mindlessly, automatically, and for some reason, possibly because singing has always been for him a way to address his feelings and thoughts, his mind chooses to focus on the lyrics.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night;_

_Take these sunken eyes and learn to see._

_All your life,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to be free._

_Blackbird, fly. Blackbird, fly._

_Into the light of the dark, black night._

The realization dawned slowly, if he thought about it. Quickly, when compared with how long it had almost definitely been sitting somewhere in his mind, but slowly within the context of his thought process: the way the light crew turns on one switch at a time, until the whole stage is illuminated by color. At first, he was just thinking about how well the lyrics represented his and Kurt's story. The Kurt he had met four months ago had been blinded by hardship, starving for acceptance, unable to see his own worth or feel the peace in truly being himself anymore, and Blaine had helped him learn to see. But then another, entirely more ground-breaking, interpretation struck him. He, too, was happier for having Kurt in his life. He, too, had learned something about himself.

The Warblers transitioned in harmonies. Blaine dropped out without realizing it, his mind racing, his eyes following Kurt around the room.

Kurt, he realized, being friends with Kurt, being with Kurt, was the moment he had been waiting for. Kurt had made _him_ see, had helped _him_ to fly, for so many reasons. By confiding in him, he had eased some of the regret Blaine felt for running from the terror of his last school. By trusting him, Kurt had made him feel like he was finally _doing_ something about what had happened to him, by helping someone else through it. But it was more than that. Kurt had helped Blaine just by being himself, just by being there and being his closest friend. By making him so very happy. _Huh_, he considered his own thoughts, _that's interesting._ He shifts in his seat so that he faces Kurt more directly, a mirror reflecting the shift happening now in his thoughts. All these months of discovering his new friend, had it really taken him that long?

_Blackbird, fly. Blackbird, fly. _

_Into the light of the dark, black night._

Kurt's voice continues, a soundtrack to the thoughts bouncing around Blaine's head. He has true feelings for his best friend, he realizes with a jolt. He wants to continue to learn to see _together_; to be more than friends. As Kurt delivers the refrain for the final few times, Blaine is somewhere between staring at Kurt and being entirely inside his own head. He is so sure of the blatancy of his epiphany that, had he not been so happy about it, he would have been truly frustrated with himself for not seeing it before.

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise._

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise._

He had been. And here it was, his moment of realization. Clueless, he thinks as a smile creeps onto his face, doesn't begin to cover it.

* * *

"You know, I think Blaine's version of the song is actually better than the original."

"But it's not in his natural key, so—"

"How dare you!"

Here he is at another pointless argument. Kurt, he notices, looks like he's about to fall asleep with boredom, or maybe disappointment—Blaine can't decide which. He shakes his head and lets his eyes close for a moment in frustration, "Enough I'm tired of this." He waves a hand vaguely to the discussion around him.

"I agree. I think we should just let you pick the song that you want to sing."

"No," he counters. That hadn't been his point. He'd though about what Kurt said, and he was feeling a bit like the obnoxious, spoiled jerk that made his team all about him. "I'm tired," he explains, "of the Warblers being all about me." He points to himself for emphasis, and to call attention to the fight David has just had over his "natural key" with him sitting right there. He addresses his friend opposite him. "David please make sure everything I'm about to say goes down in the official minutes." David is writing, but the rest of the council is looking at him quizzically.

"We are going to lose at Regional's," he says emphatically.

The room erupts into exclamations of anger and disbelief, which, Blaine has to admit, is expected. Kurt, he sees with a quick glace to his right, looks awake now and moderately interested.

"I am incredibly grateful for the belief you've all given me as a junior member to lead you all in these wonderful songs this year but," (with a quick glance, Kurt is watching him with intense interest), "from what Kurt has told me about New Directions, I, I just _know_ I can't beat them on my own. Which is why I propose that we rearrange our 11 o'clock number," (He glances at Kurt again)"and turn it into a duet."

"To showcase other talent in this group!" he practically yells around the room over the din.

"Why don't we just…play it on kazoos?" David throws his hands up in the air.

"Point of order. Point of order," Blaine cautions, jumping up from his seat. The room is quiet again, and he has the attention of the council at least, though they are looking at each other with expressions that say: _what on earth is wrong with him?_

"Now, we all lost one of our own this week. Pavarotti's voice was silenced by death and I, I don't want to silence anyone else's voices in this group." Kurt looks almost wistful again, but Blaine continues earnestly. "I think Pavarotti would roll over in his tiny, tiny little grave." Blaine is trying to inject a little comic relief, trying to diffuse the tension, (it works on Wesley, who raises his eyebrows laughingly) but Kurt jumps in.  
"The placement of which has yet to be determined," he murmurs.

"All right, a vote." Wes has gotten this annoyingly knowing look on his face. "Who's in favor of Warbler Blaine's proposal, for a duo lead at Regional's?"

The hands of practically everyone in the room, except those of the council, go up. Blaine raises his with a sort of self-affirming smile.

"Oh, can I…put my name on that audition list," Kurt practically whispers, winking amicably at Wes and David.

"Uh, no," Blaine replies, shaking his head. "No, no auditions." Blaine breathes in an extra gush of air. "I want to sing the duet," he exhales softly, "with Kurt." He turns to look at his friend, a smile on his face.

Kurt's expression of friendly interest freezes, and he looks away as though he feels he has been undeservedly praised. "But that's ridiculous," he breathes with a short laugh. "I mean, there's so many great voices. I mean everyone deserves a shot at that honor."

Everyone, including Blaine, is smiling at Kurt.

"All in favor of Kurt being my duet partner at Regional's," Blaine announces with a quick look around the room. All hands go up. Wes smirks and nods once in approbation. "Decided." The gavel falls down.

"Congratulations Kurt," Thad adds. David, too, now, has that significant look on his face and Blaine is sure, in that moment, that all of his friends, indeed, everyone in the Warblers, has figured out why he is so incredibly excited to sing a duet with Kurt right now. There are too many smirks in this room to be explained away.

He falls back on to the arm of his chair, grinning brilliantly at everyone, but especially Kurt, feeling lighter than air, clapping and laughing with the rest of the group.

Ten minutes later, he is back in his dorm room, trying to decide how, exactly, that had happened, how he had gone from wondering how to talk to Kurt to the proposition of spending extra time with him, alone, practicing, when his phone buzzes. He glances at the illuminated screen to read:

"_New Text Message: Wes"_

He clicks "View." The message contains only one word and one mark of punctuation.

_Finally!_

He falls back onto his bed with a laugh, and his cell phone tumbles onto his stomach. At least that answers _that_ question.

* * *

He walks into the commons determined to do _something_, not that he's sure exactly _what_ right now. Kurt's sitting at a table absolutely covered in small decorations, a bottle of glue in one hand and a small black box in the other.

"What's that?" Blaine asks with a bit of a laugh; the kind that comes with knowing someone really well and delighting in their explanations for how they approach life.

"I'm decorating Pavarotti's casket," Kurt answers with a sigh.

"Well finish up," Blaine says, gripping the top of a nearby chair. "I have the perfect song for our number, and we should practice."

Kurt looks up with an adorable smile. "Do tell."

"'Candles' by Hey Monday," Blaine informs him with a sort of half nod that practically begs for approval.

"I'm impressed," Kurt says with a casual smile. "You're usually so top forty."

Blaine looks away almost bashfully. "Well, I just…wanted something a little more…emotional." He takes a seat next to Kurt, who is looking at him with good-natured puzzlement. He said that almost more to himself than to Kurt, because he mostly hopes his spoken thought will cause Kurt to start the discussion before he can lose the nerve.

Kurt's brows knit together. "Why did you pick me to sing that song with?" he asks.

Blaine looks at Kurt and raises an eyebrow. Yes, he assures his reeling stomach, this conversation is happening now. He pauses uncomfortably, unsure of how to proceed. This is probably one of the first times Kurt has seen him struggle to express himself. He closes his eyes and looks slightly away.

"Kurt there is a moment," Blaine manages to look back at his friend, who is still smiling perplexedly and (perhaps?) hopefully, "When you say to yourself 'Oh there you are,'" he shakes his head back and forth quickly, as if reassuring that these are his exact thoughts. With enough pause that it could be a separate thought entirely, he smiles at Kurt and adds, "'I've been looking for you forever.'"

Something like wild hope, though it's more cautious than that, flits across Kurt's face.

Blaine tries to move this along, to get to his point before Kurt thinks this is a repeat of the Gap Attack. He moves more forward in his chair and watches his hand cover Kurt's gently.

"Watching you do 'Blackbird' this week," his eyes move up to Kurt's, "that was a moment for me." Blaine smiles, remembering, and dares another look at Kurt's face. He discerns that the hope has become a bit more prominent.

Then, to be absolutely clear, "About you." A smile tugs at Kurt's lips.

"You, you move me, Kurt," he says, still struggling with words, not sure if that's exactly what he should say, though he feels and means every word. Kurt's countenance raises a fraction, although he looks almost frozen with adrenaline.

"And this duet would just be an excuse to spend," he turns his head to ease the tension he feels from working so very hard to explain, "more time with you." There. He has said it. _Finally_.

Kurt's now smiling outright, and Blaine can hear his breaths coming out in short, shallow gasps.

Blaine leans towards him, because right now, actions are so much easier and so much clearer than words. Kurt's lips turn up with excited anticipation at first, but his expression becomes more serious as their lips meet. Blaine rests one hand on the side of Kurt's face because it simply seems like the most natural thing to do.

Kurt is frozen for about half a second, and then he inhales sharply, his fingers bending out on reflex, and places one hand along Blaine's jaw, holding them closer together.

They pull back at the same time. Kurt's hand falls back to the table with a thud, because there are too many and too few things going on in his head right now for him to sustain muscle control and lower his hand calmly. Blaine glances down his cheekbones at Kurt's lips, lets out a sort of rueful laugh, and falls back into his seat, looking anywhere but at the beaming Kurt. He runs his fingertips over his forehead, then supports his jaw with that fist. "We should…we should practice," he mumbles, his face pulling into a flustered smile. His eyebrows move down as though he wants to pretend he's not sure how that just happened.

Kurt, still grinning, decides to be the more confident one for once, and mutters, "I thought we were," with a few short nods.

Blaine breathes out, the awkwardness suddenly gone. They spring forward and crash into each other.

_The wait is over,_ is Blaine's last coherent thought, _and what a moment._

_Thanks for reading. _

_Reviews make my day._

_Oh, also, 'Glee' is not mine, and neither is 'Blackbird'.  
_


	2. Chapter 2: Somewhere Only We Know Part 1

_Do you have a minute to help me with something? It's for Kurt -Blaine_

Rachel started at her screen, puzzled. She glanced up at Kurt and Mercedes, discussing a top that Mercedes wanted to buy. Kurt had invited the New Directions girls on a Saturday shopping trip, then shocked them all by saying he was coming back to McKinley. On Monday. She'd known about Kurt and Blaine for weeks now, but this was unexpected. What could Blaine possible want with her?

_What is it?_

_Meet me for coffee at 4, Lima Bean?_

Rachel pursed her lips. Her head lifted to the sound of Kurt's laughter, and she smiled. It reminded her of how much happier her friend was, how much stronger. He hadn't seemed this carefree ever this past fall, and it had been a rare occurrence before that. If that was (and she had to admit, it probably was) due in large part to Blaine's influence, then she could at least see what he had to say.

_Sure. _

* * *

"You're the leader of your glee club, right?" Blaine asked once they were seated with their drinks.

"Yes." Rachel took a sip of her coffee. "Where are you going with this?"

Blaine sighed heavily. "I…I didn't say goodbye to Kurt. Properly, anyway. I was just so…I don't know…scared, that he was leaving. I was kind of a jerk."

"And you need my help to make it up to him?"

"I just thought…maybe the New Directions could help the Warblers give him a real send-off. In song." Blaine was half-expecting rejection. It didn't seem like a very Rachel thing to help out another glee club. On the other hand, dramatic gestures in song were _entirely_ her thing.

"Seeing as you're no longer our competition, and Kurt is one of my best friends and absolutely deserves it, I would be honored. Did you have a song in mind?"

Blaine shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I _think_ so. I should warn you that I'm awful at this. Ask Kurt."

Rachel grinned. "Oh, believe me, I have. Well, that is to say, Kurt's told me. Also I was sort of a part of it. In a way."

"Don't remind me. Please." Blaine groaned.

Rachel smiled and reached for another sip of coffee. "So the song…"

" Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know' "

Rachel ran through the lyrics and melody in her head and gave him an appraising look. "I think you're better at this than you think. And I respect your group's talent in arranging and choreographing numbers, though I think you spend a little too much time on Top-40 music. You'll do fine setting that up on your end, and my group will just join in."

Blaine smirked at how similar her comment was to Kurt's and sighed in relief. "Do you think we could perform in that commons space outside?"

Rachel nodded, pulled a black pen out of her purse, and began scribbling in a notepad.

"What are you doing?" Blaine asked.

"I'm drawing you a map of the commons so you can write choreography."

Blaine turned his head to study the sketch.

Rachel saw the question in his eyes. "You never know when song-writing inspiration will hit. I carry this everywhere."

_Of course she would_ he thought.

Rachel ripped out the paper and offered it to him.

"So you'll get everyone in New Directions on board?"

"Not a problem," she agreed.

"Thank you, Rachel."

"He'll be safe with us, you know. I promise. It's the right place for him."

Blaine stood and gathered his bag and coffee cup. "Yeah, I know."

"I'll let you know when everyone knows, and we'll go from there."

Blaine nodded and turned to leave.

"Blaine?" Rachel called after him.

He was almost at the door, but twisted his head back towards her. "Yeah?"

"You're good for him," she said. He smiled gratefully before disappearing in the crowd.

Rachel immediately reached for her phone and dialed Mercedes.

"Are you with Kurt?" she asked the minute her friend answered.

"No, why?"

"We have a performance to plan."

It took the New Directions about twenty minutes to organize. Mercedes texted Tina-_Helping Blaine serenade Kurt on Monday. You in?_ Tina sent back-_How could I not be-_ and told Mike. Artie and Brittany were with them, and soon agreed to help, though Brittany asked Artie what serenade meant. Rachel called Finn, and five minutes later Quinn and the rest of the guys were on board. "I've actually missed that dude," was Puck's remark. "And not because New Directions could use his voice." After Finn told Sam, Santana texted Mercedes-_Good for Kurt. About time that idiot boyfriend of his got it together_, which, Mercedes recognized, was her way of being supportive. Lauren found out from Puck that night.

Rachel received a text from Kurt on Sunday that almost caused her to spoil the surprise. _Rachel, is there a reason for the closed group "Operation Gap Attack 2" on FB. More specifically, why is everyone from the Warblers and the New Directions in it except me?_

Rachel decided to go with mysterious and change the subject. _You'll know in 24 hours_. _Excited for you to be back tomorrow!_

Kurt gave up.

Rachel texted Blaine that night. _I'll deal with Figgins. ND will be waiting for you guys in the commons at 8:00AM. Kurt will descend the stairs at 8:10, and the serenading will commence._

A/N: So I watched the "Somewhere Only We Know" scene about, I don't know, twenty times? It's beautiful. I'll add that scene soon, but I want to wait for it to air so that I know the full context and see the rest of the scene (if there is more). This is sort of the lead-in to that moment, because I thought it would be fun to see how the two groups decided to do this.

Thank you everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

Please review! These characters are actually hard to write accurately. Am I close? Emily.


	3. Chapter 3: Somewhere Only We Know Part 2

_Here we are! The (very) late third installation into this series. Sorry it took me so long!_

_I hope you enjoy._

_Emily_

_Oh, also, I wrote another Kurt/Blaine story called Of Finding Courage and Finding Yourself, which follows Blaine from his transfer to Dalton through his relationship with Kurt. Please check it out :)_

"Mercedes is incredible," Blaine observed, slowing as they came to a red light.

"Yeah," Kurt agreed, smiling out the car window, "she really is."

Blaine glanced at him as the car stopped. "Your friends," he began. Kurt turned his neck until their eyes met. "…we didn't get to finish talking about…before, when I asked..."

Blaine shifted his eyes back to the road.

"I do miss them, of course." He slid one hand over Blaine's shoulder for a second then sighed heavily as his hand fell back into his lap. "But beyond that…I try not to let myself think about it."

Blaine smiled a little, with effort. "If it were ever safe enough and you wanted to, you should go back," he said firmly.

Kurt head turned towards him sharply.

"That's where you belong."

Kurt took a deep breath, his heart swelling with gratitude yet again for this wonderful person beside him. "Yeah," he almost whispered, "I know." He had needed someone to say that. _But I also belong with you_ his sappy inner voice contributed without prompting.

Blaine seemed to sense the tension that had entered the conversation and decided to allow Kurt the space to think about it on his own. "Anyway, it's a non-issue right now. You need to be safe."

Kurt nodded, a street light bouncing illumination off his features. They both paused for a moment, lost in thought.

"Can you believe the old choir teacher?" Kurt said at last, the energy returning to his speech.

* * *

A few weeks later, Kurt stepped into Blaine's dorm room with caution painted all over his face.

"You okay?" Blaine asked, dropping his pen on his desk and standing. They walked toward each other and kissed briefly in greeting.

"Karofsky, he…" Blaine's heart dropped. His eyes searched Kurt's.

"He wants to talk to me and my dad at McKinley this afternoon."

Blaine twisted his hand in Kurt's. "Did he say why?"

Kurt shook his head. "Not a word."

Blaine pulled Kurt into a tight embrace. "It'll be okay, Kurt," he mumbled into his shoulder. "I promise."

Kurt held him tighter.

"You want me to ride with you?"

Kurt glanced at the desk. "No, Blaine, you…you have an essay due tomorrow. You don't have time. I'll be fine, I promise."

Blaine opened his mouth to argue that he didn't care about the assignment. Kurt cut him off with a finger to his lips. "I have to do this by myself. I have to confront him when he doesn't have an excuse to deflect his bullying onto anyone else."

Blaine thought it over for a second and was apparently mollified, with one reservation. "You'll call the second the meeting's over?" he requested.

"Of course," Kurt agreed, kissing his boyfriend softly.

"You'll be fine," Blaine repeated, more to himself than to his boyfriend.

"Yeah," Kurt said, his voice firm. "I will."

* * *

When Kurt called from McKinley and told Blaine that he wanted to talk to him in person, and would he be free to talk at Dalton when Kurt returned, he knew something serious had happened.

Kurt burst into his dorm room an hour and a half later, his expression too complicated to dissect.

"Kurt, what happened? Is everything okay?"

Kurt didn't answer, instead beginning to pace back and forth between the beds.

"Kurt?"

Kurt finally met his eyes, a few tears beginning to glisten behind the lids.

"I can go back," Kurt said, the wonder apparent in his voice. "Blaine, I can go back on Monday."

Blaine swallowed heavily in a gut reaction to the thought of his boyfriend leaving, but fought back any other negative reaction easily. A smile tugged at his lips. "That's wonderful, Kurt." His brow furrowed. "What happened, exactly?"

Kurt smirked. "He seemed genuinely apologetic. But it can't hurt that Santana's blackmailing him."

"Santana…"

"Santana's been in love with Brittany for years now," Kurt informed him.

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"That's probably not the reason she's telling herself, but it's definitely there."

Blaine had closed the distance between them, and he reached for one of Kurt's hands. "I'm so happy for you," he said, his voice full of emotion.

Kurt's answering smile was watery. "I'm sorry that it's so soon after…" He glanced at their joined hands. "Last time, I was just about to get a solo for Sectionals, which was awful, but this is so much worse. You probably hate me for this," he observed. He rambled on before Blaine could protest. "Yeah, you hate me. Or if you don't, you will soon. And then you'll break up with me and stop speaking to me because I'm such a terrible boyfriend and—mmph" Blaine had decided that particular rant was getting a little out of hand, so he had stopped his boyfriend with his lips. Kurt let himself get lost in the kiss, their hands entwining tightly as they pressed closer and closer together.

They sank onto the bed, Blaine pulling Kurt silently towards him.

"I'm not mad, Kurt. I promise." He sealed their lips together again. "And I definitely don't hate you. I'll just miss you, is all."

"I miss my friends," Kurt confessed into Blaine's shirt, his arms on Blaine's chest and Blaine's hands stroking his hair. "But I'll miss you too." Kurt snuggled closer. "I wish…" _that I could have both._ He stopped himself from saying it because he didn't want his boyfriend to get the wrong idea. Blaine couldn't have magic solutions for everything.

Blaine kissed the top of his head. "What?" he prompted.

"Never mind," Kurt said softly, his eyes swimming with tears.

"I'm sorry." Sorry that this causes you pain.

Kurt used his elbows on Blaine's chest to sit up enough to establish eye contact. "Don't apologize," he said firmly. He kissed Blaine's forehead. "You're the best thing that's happened to me all year." Blaine relaxed a little.

This physical part of their relationship, though new, didn't feel…odd, at all.

They'd been doing the same thing, emotionally—supporting each other, comforting each other—since they met. Now, it was just physical, too.

"So, Monday?" Blaine asked, taking in a shaky breath.

"We'll be okay, Blaine," Kurt comforted, though it sounded a bit like a question. He gently settled his head back onto Blaine's chest.

"I believe in us," Blaine affirmed, moving the fingers that were laced with Kurt's. "We'll make it through."

* * *

"I need a song, Blaine. To sing at Glee Club on my first day."

Blaine sighed internally, because this was getting real far too fast. He reached for his boyfriend's hand.

"Nothing comes to mind?"

Kurt wrinkled his nose. "I can't think of anything. Unusual for me, I know. But it's hard. It's too depressing, or romantic, or foolish, or any one of a hundred things. And it has to be perfect."

Blaine held his hand out wordlessly for Kurt's iPod and scanned through the albums slowly, clicking on things he thought might have promise and looking for songs he knew.

Wicked didn't really have anything appropriate, and neither did Evita or Phantom or any of Kurt's other favorites. As he was about to give up on Sunset Boulevard, he recognized one song and ran through a few seconds of the lyrics in his mind, also noting that it would be a good match for Kurt's vocal range. He pressed play and offered Kurt an ear bud without comment.

Kurt's face lit up a little as he heard it. They listened to the entire song with one set of headphones. "Yeah, that'll work," Kurt said, brightening, "that's perfect. Thank you, Blaine."

Blaine smiled sadly, though Kurt didn't notice it, and kissed Kurt's cheek. This was what he was afraid of. The song was perfect. Perfect for Kurt's experience. Dalton was a recess, a brief stay in a different kind of life, and now, like Pavarotti, who had to adjust to his gilded cage before he would sing, Kurt was moving on. He didn't need Dalton, or the Warblers, or Blaine anymore. He was saying goodbye to them. He had never said goodbye to McKinley. That song, it was about falling back in like you never left. And didn't that sort of mean pretending that the middle didn't happen?

That conclusion threw Blaine into a bout of depression; sure that he was losing his boyfriend and his best friend all at once. He'd know, somewhere, that Kurt would go back the second he could, and he'd always wanted that for his best friend. But the lonely kid who finally had a boyfriend with him at school couldn't help but see it as leaving more than as going back.

What he did with that emotion was not intentional. But when he received an offer from Kurt to study together, he chose instead to work alone, and when he saw Kurt walking in the hallway at Dalton, he continued on his way when he would previously have chased him down so that they could hold hands. He was avoiding Kurt because he was so confused—he wanted to be supportive, but every time he thought about his boyfriend leaving he choked up with terror at the thought of them so easily drifting apart.

Kurt had no idea what to make of this behavior. He had only two days to observe it before he was packing his things and moving out. He stared hopefully at the door to his dorm room for fifteen minutes when he came to collect the last box, but there was no knock and he left without a goodbye.

* * *

Because Kurt was so incredibly excited to be back with his friends at McKinley (and because a little misdirection about their plan couldn't hurt), Mercedes offered to help Kurt time a grand entrance.

"You know, to give in to our diva-like tendencies," Mercedes had argued. Kurt had agreed.

Which was why, at 11:55, they timed their watches together, and Mercedes descended the stairs to the commons alone.

Kurt heard Puck's unmistakable voice question "What the hell is goin' on?" with his usual ferocity, and waited for Mercedes's response.

"Well, my fellow glee clubbers…it's noon, which means: it's official!"

Kurt grinned, walking to the stairs.

"What's official?" he heard Sam ask.

Kurt took a deep breath, stepped to the edge of the stairs, and used his hands as a makeshift megaphone. "My transfer," he shouted. He threw his arms out with enthusiasm. "Kurt Hummel is back at McKinley!"

He heard his friends cheer as he bounded down the stairs to meet them, ecstatic. He was home.

He hugged Mercedes first happily, not even bothering to scold her for stealing his hat (because he _did_ notice), then reached for Tina and Brittany, both of them with joyful grins on their faces.

"Let me breathe, let me breathe," he joked, chuckling and feeling light and perfect and happy. He glanced around his friends, and suddenly couldn't wait to get back to being part of their group. "Let's get ready for nationals!"

"Not yet," Mercedes cautioned. Kurt turned to her with confusion in his eyes. She grinned like she had something up her sleeve and continued. "See there's a reason we're meeting here today. There's some people that want to say goodbye to you, Kurt." Her face conveyed how pleased she was with whatever was about to happen.

Kurt smoothed a few fingers over his hair with a congenial smile on his face and followed his friend's gaze to the opposite side of the commons.

He squinted toward the sun, and his heart sputtered to a stop. Blaine was making his way down the stairs, flanked by Wes on his left and David on his right. He felt an overwhelming rush of affection for these people who had taken him under their wings these past few months. He grabbed onto Mercedes in surprise, sure that if he didn't hold on to something, the warm, fuzzy feeling would cause him to fall over, trying to direct some of the emotion somewhere. It was such a moment for their friendship that they were together to see proof that Kurt had gotten exactly what he had always wanted. _I'm so happy_, that grip said. _Look at all the wonderful people in my life_.

"Kurt," Blaine announced, his voice uncharacteristically shaky. "Dalton is going to miss you." David considered him with solemn support; Wes with a lighthearted smile. "You were a great addition to the Warblers," Blaine continued, "…and…you made us a better team." Kurt looked down at his shoes, so overcome with emotion that he had to look anywhere but at Blaine, but gathered himself in time to look back up at his boyfriend with a solid smile, the sun pounding into his eyes.

"I'm sad to see you go but we all know this is something that you really want." Blaine glanced between his friends to confirm his statement. Kurt bit back tears at how kind they were being to him and how supportive they were of his decision.

"And I'll still have you after school and on the weekends," Blaine lifted his arms as if to relieve tension, "but… these guys won't," he glanced between his friends, "so… they wanted to say goodbye."His smile was almost tearful.

"And thank you, Kurt," Wes concluded.

Kurt took in a shaky breath and breathed out slowly, trying to calm his emotions enough that he could continue to listen.

The rest of the Warblers appeared from the same corner of the commons, and the music began.

_I walked across an empty land._

_I knew the pathway like the back of my hand._

_I felt the earth beneath my feet. _

_Sat by the river and it made me complete._

Blaine's voice was beautiful, as always, but it was also more emotional, more heartfelt, than he had heard before. It was something he had learned from Kurt: sometimes, singing wasn't about the audience. It was about the performer, about expressing some emotion or thought held deep inside you when words weren't enough.

Blaine's eyelids closed periodically, the honesty warm in his face and voice together. Aside from these brief moments, Kurt's eyes never left Blaine's, and Blaine's eyes never left Kurt's.

The Warblers started to walk towards him as he blinked away tears, fighting to hold his smile in place and enjoy the music.

The musicians that usually played with Glee Club jumped up and joined in. (He was too preoccupied to notice that someone must have arranged that, but later the Facebook group GapAttack2 would come to mind.)

_Oh simple thing, where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on._

Kurt smiled as Blaine stopped just above him, wrapped in the warmth of the gaze fixed on him.

_So tell me when you're gonna let me in._

Just as Blaine had settled on a tearful smile, Kurt fought with a sudden urge to cry, but was quickly distracted as Blaine bounded down the stairs to the piano.

_I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin._

Blaine's hands pounded the keys as he split his time between setting the chords beneath his hands and following his boyfriends' every movement as he bounced lightly to the music.

_And if you have a minute why don't we go?_

_Talk about it somewhere only we know._

_This could be the end of everything._

_So why don't we go, somewhere only we know?  
Somewhere only we know._

Blaine approached him with a warm smile and stared at their hands as they joined, pulling his boyfriend wordlessly down the stairs.

Their eyes met briefly as Kurt allowed himself to be pulled down, too lost in Blaine's gaze to notice where he was heading. Now he was actually crying, the tears falling slowly down his face. His Glee Club joined in the song as Blaine sang above them. Each of the Warblers passed by him, offering gestures of farewell as they made their way back around. He nearly choked on the tears as his friends, one by one, said goodbye.

He linked arms with Wes and David, the great welcomers as he had dubbed them on hearing Blaine's story of his transfer, and tearfully took in a breath as he said farewell to his friends.

_And if you have a minute why don't we go? Talk about it somewhere only we know._

And then Finn was there, the brother he never knew he needed until he had him, and they were embracing tightly, Kurt's chin resting comfortably on Finn's shoulder as tears slid down his face. Mercedes appeared and embraced him briefly before leaving him in front of Blaine as the chorus ended.

_This could be the end of everything. So why don't we go somewhere only we know._

Kurt, who had felt so helpless and alone at the beginning of the year, was now surrounded by so many people who cared about him that he was nearly overwhelmed.

It was just Blaine singing, now, and Kurt could see the tears beginning to fall below his eyes. He gasped a little and looked down as more tears broke through his eyes.

_Somewhere only we know. Somewhere only we know._

As the song ended, Blaine, ever the performer, finally broke down and began to silently shake. There was still silence for a second.

They reached for each other at exactly the same moment.

Blaine buried his chin into the crook of Kurt's neck, his hands grasping at his back as he rocked them a little. Kurt twisted his arms around him, resting his chin on Blaine's shoulder, and somehow, he finally understood why Blaine has been so cautious, so distant around him for the last few days. He almost laughed because, honestly, the assumption he was pretty sure Blaine had reached was as ridiculous as it was completely untrue.

"I'm never saying goodbye to you," he whispered into Blaine's ear, shaking his head vigorously. _Not ever_.

Kurt let go after a few moments because he knew he had to. Blaine was still almost crying, but he looked better, somewhat comforted. Blaine cast his eyes to the ground to halt his crying, intent on staying calm for Kurt.

Kurt smiled at him fondly through his tears, taking a deep breath because he had to let him go.

Blaine dropped their joined arms and turned away with the same instinct. Kurt felt like he was about to cry at the loss of contact.

Various Warblers patted Blaine on the back as Kurt watched him back away, that part of his life shifting away. He comforted himself with a small revision to the song he would perform in just a few hours. That part of his life, it did happen. It had made him who he was today. He wasn't leaving Blaine behind. He was saying goodbye to a chapter in his life, but Blaine would move on to the next one with him.

His friends surrounded him, their supportive arms trailing around him. He heard them call out greetings and felt Finn place a supportive hand on his shoulder.

Above them, Blaine breathed in shakily and looked back, worried already about whether his boyfriend was all right.

He saw Tina rub his shoulder and Mercedes replace the hat.

"Oh come on." "No fun." "Get in here." he heard people call.

"We love you," Santana gushed.

"We back. We back. We back," they cheered.

"Yeah," Artie called.

Kurt was settled into the group with a peaceful smile on his face, the tears beginning to fade.

Blaine saw that the New Directions had Kurt all warm and safe and happy, and he smiled. Kurt was back where he belonged.

_Thanks for reading! Emily._

_P.S. Leave a review?_


End file.
